Shy Girl
by En fait
Summary: Songfic to Shy Girl by O-Town...it was supposed to break my writers block (it didnt), but for somtin i really didnt wanna write, it turned out okay i guess...pls r/r!


A/N: I thought writing this might break my writer's block on Right here, Right now and As Long As We're Here. It didn't. Oh well. Enjoy.   
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the song, it's Shy Girl by O-Town, and all the chars are Tamora Pierce's except for the three girls, who have no personalities and so are basically not characters but oh well, they're still mine.   
  
Dedication: This is for Reena, because she beta-read it aaaand.....it's her b-day! So everybody sing happy birthday to her! *everybody starts singing* (thanks to everyone else who read it too...Tas, Jae, and Jenny)   
~~~~~  
  
*Shy, shy girl  
Shy girl  
Yeah, yeah (yeah, yeah) Oh, Oh (oh, oh)  
Standing with the wallflowers  
Wishing you'd stayed at home  
You kick yourself for coming  
When you're standing there all alone  
The centers of attention are busy making all their moves  
Oh girl . . .  
While all the guys are lookin' at them  
I got my eye on you  
Only you*  
  
Kel shifted in her seat, wondering what had come over her to cause her to come here. Maybe it had been Joren's all-too-public cracks that she wasn't a real girl, that she might as well find herself a wife since she obviously wanted to be a man. But why had she felt the need to prove him wrong? It was stupid . . . stupid, stupid, stupid. Maybe he was right. None of the boys were gracing her with even a miniscule amount of attention, and she didn't want to approach them herself, because she was the girl squire that they weren't allowed to have a relationship with. Not that they'd want one, anyhow.  
  
*You might think you're nothing special  
You might be losing heart  
But baby don't you realize  
How beautiful you really are?*  
  
Roald looked over the shoulder of the brunette whose name he couldn't remember -- was it Aliah or Amee? -- at his friend. Kel sat all alone on a bench at the side of the ball room. Her dress -- made special by Lalasa -- was a pale green, and relatively simple, but it suited her like the stars suited the night sky. Nodding enthusiastically at whatever the girl before him was saying -- he wasn't even sure whether she was speaking Common anymore -- he wished he could go over to Kel. When his parents had decided it would be fun to throw a party for the kingdom to celebrate the signing of some important treaty or another, everyone in the palace had been invited, including servants and squires -- even the villagers were celebrating. The rest of the boys were all too excited at the prospect of meeting girls -- especially Neal -- that none of them stopped to consider that Kel wasn't even sure if she wanted to go. And, as soon as they'd arrived, they'd been drawn to various clumps of beauties, leaving Kel on her own. And as much as she tried to hide it, she felt awkward in this setting, and even a little disappointed that she wasn't getting any attention. If only she knew . . .   
  
*Shy girl  
It's written on your face  
A mermaid out of water  
Feeling out of place*  
  
She glanced at Roald and caught him looking at her. He smiled and mimicked the girl he was talking with. She ducked her head to hide her grin -- and the slight reddening of her cheeks.  
  
Roald hoped that she was a bit pinker than she'd been a moment ago because she liked the attention, not because she disliked it or was worried about it. He caught her eyes darting towards him once again and felt a surge of adrenaline. He wanted to walk away from the mindless girl babbling before him, only he was the prince and it would have been rude. And a prince must never be rude. But that didn't stop him from looking . . . and wondering.  
  
*Shy girl  
Tryin' to hide your blush  
Caught you looking for a second  
Felt my heart rush*  
  
Roald sighed. He couldn't take any more of this girl. Did she ever talk about anything other than fashion? Nodding idiotically, he interrupted her, putting his hands on her shoulders and said, "I'm so sorry, I do apologize, but I must take my leave." He walked toward Kel, hardly noticing the colorful dresses whirling around him. He smiled at her and saw her arms move to cross her middle as she gave him a tentative half-smile.  
  
*Don't run away  
Don't be afraid  
Don't be shy girl  
So beautiful (so beautiful)  
Shy, shy girl*  
  
Roald sat down next to Kel. Leaning towards her ear, he murmured, "You're lucky -- I was beginning to think I'd kill myself if I ever heard another word about dresses and fabrics." Her first instinct had been to pull back a little, but he was speaking so softly it'd been necessary to move in closer again to hear. She bit her cheek. "I wish I hadn't come. I'm still The Girl, and I always will be."  
  
Roald touched her shoulder. "Hey -- don't say that. I think you look beautiful, and you should enjoy yourself." She looked up at him and whispered, "Thanks. That means a lot, Roald." As her eyes averted a moment later, he wished yet again that she knew how he felt about her.  
  
*I'm moving in closer  
Slowly tryin' to break the ice  
Shy, shy girl  
But it's hard to get a lock on your downward glancing eyes  
Oh yeah*  
  
Neal and Cleon approached Kel and Roald, two girls in tow. "We're going to take a walk in the gardens," Neal said, winking, "want to join us?" Kel and Roald looked at each other. "Sure, why not," Roald shrugged.  
  
Once they were out there, though, the two decided they ought to tactfully leave. The lovebirds didn't seem to require company -- or want it. Roald wanted so badly to tell her that she was definitely a real girl as they passed rows and rows of roses. The ordinary ones acme first, red and pink and some white, but hidden, tucked away in one of the bushes, he spotted a yellow rose. Reaching for it, taking care to mind the thorns, he plucked it. Kel had stopped beside him and was watching, puzzled. When he turned round and presented the flower to her, her eyes widened a bit -- was he serious or just teasing? -- but she managed to give him a smile as she accepted the gift. "For you," he said. "Because you stand out -- you're the yellow rose amidst thousands of red, pink, and white ones. And you are just as special as this rose."  
  
*You might think you're nothing special  
But I'm about to lose my heart  
Oh baby don't you realize  
How beautiful you really are?*  
  
Her mouth quivered. What -- what was he trying to say? Was he just being her friend? He must be; he was the Crown Prince, he couldn't possibly want her out of all his choices.   
  
*Shy girl  
It's written on your face  
A mermaid out of water  
Feeling out of place*  
  
What if, Kel thought, what if, just maybe, he wasn't just being a friend? Her eyes fluttered to study him, but she quickly looked away, confused. What was she supposed to think?  
  
*Shy girl  
Tryin' to hide your blush  
Caught you looking for a second  
Felt my heart rush  
Don't run away  
Don't be afraid  
Don't be shy girl  
So beautiful (so beautiful)  
Shy, shy girl*  
  
Nervously, Kel picked at the stem of her rose. Roald's hand covered hers a moment later. "Don't do that," he murmured. "Don't be nervous," he hushed her, as she opened her mouth to speak.  
  
*Now I'm standing right in front of you  
I confess I'm nervous too  
Girl you know there's something goin' on  
And not to give it a chance  
Would be so wrong  
Oh baby*  
  
Plucking the flower from her hands, he gazed at her. "You don't want to mar its beauty -- it already falls so short of you. You'd hurt its feelings." His voice cracked a bit as he told her.   
  
Kel's jaw worked. "Roald . . . you don't -- you can't -- " she shook her head and shut up, unsure of what to say. There was a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, as if someone had suddenly decided to hold a jousting match in there.  
  
Roald twirled the flower around before raising his face to her again. "My life had been full of people making decisions for me, Kel. I can make this one on my own -- it's past time I did." Handing the flower back to her, he placed his hands on her shoulders, lightly, so that she could pull away at any time.  
  
*Shy girl  
It's written on your face  
A mermaid out of water  
Feeling out of place  
Shy girl  
Tryin' to hide her your blush  
Pretending that there's nothing between the two of us  
Don't run away  
Don't be afraid  
Don't be shy girl*  
  
One arm traveled downwards to grasp her hand, intertwining their fingers, and the other hand glided towards her face, brushing her bangs off her forehead and then moving to her cheek; his eyes locked with hers.  
  
*Shy girl  
It's written on your face  
A mermaid out of water  
Feeling out of place  
Shy girl  
Tryin' to hide her your blush  
Caught you looking for a second  
Felt my heart rush  
Don't run away  
Don't be afraid  
Don't be shy girl  
So beautiful (so beautiful)  
Shy, shy girl*  
  
Roald felt her hand shake a little in his. He saw she was biting her lower lip. "You don't want to do this, Roald -- you really don't. Don't . . . " Bringing his other hand down to hold hers, he told her sincerely, "I'm scared too." He laughed a little bit as his voice cracked once more and his fingers twitched a little. "See?" Serious again, he continued, "But I think we can make it together." Nervously, he waited for her reply.  
  
*Hey girl  
Don't be shy girl  
Shy, shy girl  
Don't run away  
Oh baby  
I'm lookin' at you  
Come a little closer  
Shy, shy girl  
Shy girl*  
  
Letting her teeth slide back off her lip, Kel squared her shoulders. Determinedly she said, "You have to believe in something." She slipped her arms around his waist after only a moment's hesitation, and he followed suit, encircling her neck. Leaning forward, his lips met hers softly, and then a bit harder. He pulled back to say, "Yes, you definitely have to believe in something -- believing is what makes things come true." She smiled and her hands climbed up his back to pull his face down again.  
  
~~~~~  
  
A/N: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, they're both OoC, but gimmie a break. Didn't I tell you I was suffering from writer's block? I mean, ya gotta have some pity there...it's a deadly disease -- and I got it bad. So don'tcha think you should review?   
  
~Dani  
  
  
  
  



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